Miles from anywhere, Darracott Place is presided over by irascible Lord Darracott. The recent drowning of his eldest son has done nothing to improve his temper. For now he must send for the unknown offspring of the uncle whom the family are never permitted to mention. Yet none of that beleaguered family are prepared for the arrival of the weaver’s brat and heir apparent.

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Miles from anywhere, Darracott Place is presided over by irascible Lord Darracott. The recent drowning of his eldest son has done nothing to improve his temper. For now he must send for the unknown offspring of the uncle whom the family are never permitted to mention. Yet none of that beleaguered family are prepared for the arrival of the weaver’s brat and heir apparent.

This is the story of Lord Darracott bringing his heir to his estate so he can whip him into shape for his interitance. The Lord, nor any of his family, have ever met the heir because the Lord never thought the estate would go to him (there were two others ahead of him). In fact the Lord never told his family that the person even existed. The new heir was born to a son that the Lord had thrown out of the house and his life because of what the Lord thought was a very imprudent marriage.

The new heir comes to the estate to meet the family. As the family sizes him up, he is also taking their measure. I love the heir (his name is Hugh). I think Hugh is one of Heyer's best characters in all her novels. There are also some other truly great characters in Unknown Ajax. Hugh's cousins are all vivid characters with totally different personalities. Of course there is a romance involved (a very entertaining one) and I find this to be one of the most humourous of Heyer's novels. The scene at the end of the book (all the activity relating to "the shooting") is so funny I lauched until I cried. In fact, I found the book even funnier in the audible version (and this reader's performance) than it was when I read it. What a wonderful book. It is one of my favorite Audible purchases.

I read mysteries and thrillers almost exclusively. However, every now and then, I need a change of pace -- something different to "clear the palate". A Georgette Heyer Regency romance is the perfect thing to direct my mind away from all the crime and violence I've been reading about. Heyer's books are light, lively and full of wit.

"The Unknown Ajax" is one of the best of Heyer's stories, with all the usual elements : aristocratic characters, a fortune or lost fortune, an unmarried daughter, a handsome young man, another plot bedsides the romantic one, Heyer's excellent writing, lively, witty dialog and always a happy ending.. But in addition to those things, in this case, cantankerous Lord Darracott is obliged to recognize as his heir a grandson by the Lord's second son, who becomes the heir upon the deaths of the oldest Darracott son, along with his son. I'm not sure how this results -- I suspect it has to do with the indecipherable rules of primogeniture or other laws of succession in England.

In any case, the new heir has never been met by any of the Darracotts, and only Lord D even knows of his existence. When Lord D's second son married the daughter of a "weaver," they became estranged and ceased all communication. When the new heir, Hugo, arrives at Darracott Place, he sees that the family are expecting him to be a bumpkin with little or no education or manners, and no intelligence to speak of. So he acts like the man they are expecting. From there on there follows much lively discussion, and a run-in with the customs men regarding a bit of smuggling. And of course all is well at the end.

I have read and re-read Georgette Heyers for more years than I care to count. The Unknown Ajax has always been a favorite yet I derived new pleasure and more enjoyment from the fabulous voicing of the main character Hugo. Reading it myself, I was never able to do justice to the language or the subtle humour that comes out when someone reads it well and with the right sort of accent. What a pleasure!

This is one of the best audiobooks I've ever listened to. The characters are believable and appealing, and the plot is highly entertaining. I haven't read many books by Georgette Heyer (only one other, years ago), but if this is indicative of her usual writing style, I'm impressed and anxious to try more. The dialogue and plot are so amusing, I laughed out loud more than once. I'm a little picky about books, but listened to this one completely cringe-free. As for the romance.....this is my idea of perfection. Subtle and irresistible! There was nothing contrived or predictable at all!

The performance by Daniel Philpott was astounding. I'll be searching out his other performances without delay. I am still a little awed by his talent. In fact, I can't be entirely sure that wasn't one of the reasons I'm so enthused about the book in general!

I don't usually take time to write reviews (I'm not proud of that), but I didn't want anyone to miss the opportunity to try this one out. It was just a thoroughly delightful experience from start to finish!

...but it finishes well! The hero is like those people you like, but are a little irritated with because of what appears to be simple-mindedness. But I should have known Georgette Heyer better than that! It has all the Usual Suspects, the highborn but slightly impoverished aristocrats, the beautiful daughter, the irrascible old patriarch, disappointed Second Son, and assorted dandies, caustic-tongued young men, and pink-cheeked innocents. Stir in some mysterious ghostly doings, and a nice bit of history, and this story is most palatable.

Upon re-reading this book, I had to revise my rating from 3 to 5 stars. This is a fabulous story of bluffs, hoaxes, schemes, and other hilarious acts of deception. Hugo, the "unknown Ajax", is a truly charming character, and the supporting cast is outstanding! This would make a wonderful play, and listening to it as an audiobook, with Hugo's broad Yorkshire accent, really heightened my enjoyment of the book.

Absolutely. It's a fantastic comedy of manners in which a "fish-out-of-water" hero is thrust into the midst of his not-so-loving family and proceeds to sort out all their problems. It's funny and warm and witty - and the performance is one of the best I've ever heard.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hugo. Clever, level-headed, and with a terrific sense of humour, he plays the common-as-muck dimwit because that's what his family expects him to be, and all the while is sizing them up and having a bit of fun at their expense.

Which character – as performed by Daniel Philpott – was your favourite?

Again - Hugo. It's a brilliant performance all-round, but Hugo is sigh-worthy. This is Heyer, so it's squeaky clean, but in the more tender scenes, he gives Hugo a lovely deep, soft tone which is quite knee-weakening!

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed several times, especially towards the end when Hugo has to pull everyone back from the brink of disaster.

Any additional comments?

If you're a Heyer fan and haven't listened to this yet, you really must - it's one of the best of her audios. And if you've not listened to or read Heyer yet, then this is a fantastic way to start. Daniel Philpott brings the book to life in a way I didn't experience when reading it.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Amazon Customer

Brixham, United Kingdom

4/7/13

Overall

"Completely delightful"

What a pleasure to have one of my favourite Georgette Heyer books read to me by Daniel Philpott. Surely even macho men could enjoy this story of a muscular soldier and his struggle to get his "uppercrust" relations to accept him. Excellent story and an excellent narration.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Maggie

5/17/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Eeeh, it's gradely"

Any additional comments?

I was sorry to get to the end of this one. I only discovered the book ten or so years ago, no idea why I'd missed it in my teens. The whole mix of the normal Regency manners with down to earth Yorkshire ex-Army, plus the smugglers, is great, topped off by that frantic evening pulling the wool over the eyes of the poor conscientious Riding Officer. Daniel Philpott brings all the strands and characters together perfectly. Loved it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Kathryn

Durham, United Kingdom

11/8/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Immense enjoyment"

This book was thoroughly enjoyable, the reading was good by Daniel Philpott, with very natural voices for the characters. The book itself was an amusing and entertaining story with wonderful characters.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Wynnie

Hockley, United Kingdom

5/16/12

Overall

"The Unknown Ajax"

This is a long time favourite of mine and I thoroughly enjoyed the narration by Daniel Philpott, especially Hugo. One I will listen to over and over. Wonderful. :)

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Matt

LiskeardUnited Kingdom

3/6/10

Overall

"The Unknown Ajax"

This audio book was absolutely fantastic!! Its one of my favourite stories (after The Grand Sophy)(please make it available on audible soon!!!!). The narrator did an excellent job with this. He managed to do many different voices and accents, I thought he did the lady character voices particularly well, not making them sound falsetto like a lot of male narrators seem to feel the need to do! Overall I really really enjoyed this and will probably begin listening to it all over again even though I've just finished it!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Katie

Llangwyryfon, Ceredigion, United Kingdom

3/1/10

Overall

"The Unknow Ajax"

This is one of my favourite of Georgette Heyer's books. Full of humour the central character Hugo comes from Yorkshire to his unknown family to inherit his grandfathers estate. The story tells how he coped with the hostility of his family by droppping into a strong Yorkshire dialect and pretending to be a nobody. He ends by saving the family from disaster and falls in love with his cousin, the heroine of the piece. The book is a great read with warm characters and many humours twists and turns. The only thing that has stopped me awarding 5 starts is the reading. It isn't read in the voice of my imagination (which most of the Georgette Heyer's are on audible) it doesn't especially detract from the story but definitely doesn't add to it either.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Mary Osborne

3/21/15

Overall

Story

"my favourite"

I love this book have read and listened to so many times and each time it's as fresh as the first.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Heather

1/10/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"One of the The best Historical Novelists ever"

Georgette Heyer is top of her profession when it comes to historical romance. Her ability to make you laugh and cry is unchallenged and her books can be read over and over again as the language and 'turn of phrase' are like listening to a favourite piece of music repeatedly. The Unknown Ajax lives up to this criteria even though the reader sometimes does not seem to understand the humor or emotion on occasion. Altogether a most satisfactory experience.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Angela Whitear

1/2/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Not applicable"

I enjoyed the storyline although it was a bit long winded,It was very well narrated and I always find a male voice easier to listen to than a female one.The characters are usually easier to distinguish.

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